Thermoregulation
Ho Jae Han
College of Veterinary Medicine
Seoul National University
Keywords
ㆍEndotherms and Ectotherms ㆍHypothermia and Hyperthermia
ㆍHeat loss and Heat production ㆍNeural control of body temperature
ㆍNonevaporative heat loss ㆍTorpor, Hibernation, Estivation
ㆍHeat exchange ㆍAdaptation, Acclimation, Acclimatization
ㆍWays to regulate body temperature
ㆍEvaporative heat loss
ㆍHeat production
Ectotherms and Endotherms
Heat production and Heat loss
Basic principle:
The quantity of Heat production
=The quantity of Heat loss
*Sensible heat loss=Nonevaporative heat loss
Latent heat loss=Evaporative heat loss
Ambient temperature
=Temperature of environment
Heat exchange
Conduction
H = CA(Tskin±Tair or water)
H = heat
C = thermal conductance
A = area of skin where heat exchange occurs
T = temperature
The amount of heat transferred is proportional to
the magnitude of the temperature gradient.
Effective insulators: reducing heat conduction
(Fur) (Blubber of Whale)
Convection
Heat gain or loss by convection is achieved by the
movement of fluid or gas in contact with the skin,
whether this be air or water.
Radiation
-Visible spectrum
->is dependent on color of
absorbing surface
-Infrared spectrum
->is independent of color
->has almost 100% of
absorptance and emissivity
Radiation
Heat exchange by radiation involves the transfer of heat
by electromagnetic waves and, within the natural
environment, consists of heat transfer within both the
visible and the infrared portions of the spectrum.
-Heat gain = absorption of visible spectrum + infrared
radiation from surrounding solid materials
-Heat loss = infrared radiation from the animal
Total effects of nonevaporative heat exchange
Heat gain Heat loss
Metabolic rate Radiation absorbed Re-radiation Convection Evaporation
15 85 67 9 24
Ways to reduce nonevaporative heat loss(1)
Total insulation = External insulation + Tissue insulation
Ways to reduce nonevaporative heat loss(2)
Although white fur will absorb less heat than a If the fur is either crimped or the hairs are arranged in
black fur, polar bear fur allows maximal penetration many directions, then the incident radiation will be
of solar radiation and minimal convective heat loss reflected not only away from the animal but also into
because of its arrangement. the coat and may be absorbed deep into the fur or
even at the skin surface.
Ways to reduce nonevaporative heat loss(3)
Piloerection Behavioral means: reducing surface area
Functions of arteriovenous anastomoses in thermoregulation
Examples of the countercurrent heat exchange
Leg of aquatic birds Flipper of marine animals
Evaporative heat loss
Panting is associated with brain-cooling system
Evaporative heat loss
Sweating mechanism related with nerve is highly-
specialized between species.
Evaporative heat loss
Heat production: nonshivering thermogenesis
Brown fat is especially important in newborn and hibernating
animals.
Heat production: shivering thermogenesis
Note that this process is involuntary.
Hypermetabolism
-At temperatures below C in this figure, known as the
lower critical temperature, heat production must be
increased in order to maintain a constant body
temperature.
Hypothermia
-33~35°C
1)decline in function of CNS
->damage to thermoregulatory reflex
2)ventricular fibrillation
3)Regional hypothermia induces tissue death, also
known as frostbite
Therapy for Hypothermia
-Using warmed lactated Ringer's solution (to assist in
the reversal of metabolic acidosis)
-Warming of the skin (preferably by water immersion),
-Monitoring cardiac electrical function for possible
ventricular fibrillation.
Hyperthermia
-Heat stress: Early phase of hyperthermia
->Dehydration, Hypovolemia, Hypotension
-Heat stroke: 41~43°C
->Rise of brain temperature, damaging its neural
control
*Brachycephalic breeds are more susceptible to
hyperthermia.
Metabolic rate and thus heat production approximately
double with every 10℃ increase in body temperature,
the so-called van't Hoff effect.
Therapy for hyperthermia
- Cooled lactated Ringer’s solution
- Spray cooling of the skin
- Air for evaporation
*Immersion to icy water: causing
cutaneous vasoconstriction, which
hampers heat removal.
Neural control of body temperature(1)
Neural control of body temperature(2)
Thermoreceptors in body
Response to the stimuli
Fluctuation in body temperature
-The normal range of body temperature means that the
body temperature can be modified without external
stimuli by its physiological mechanisms.
-Normal diurnal fluctuation in the controlled level of
body temperature such that it is lowest at the time of
awakening and highest at the end of activity and before
sleep.
-At the time of ovulation, the controlled mean daily
temperature increases, usually over a 24-hour period, by
0.5 to 1℃. Progesterone secretion appears to be the
controlling factor, since daily mean body temperature
increases coincidentally with the rise in plasma
progesterone levels at the end of the cycle.
Fever
Torpor
-Daily torpor is when the regulated body temperature is
reduced, thereby reducing metabolic rate and energy
expenditure.
-The energy cost of rewarming is high and, in bat
species, is achieved by brown fat oxidation.
-birds that do not possess brown fat such as
hummingbirds use shivering thermogenesis assisted by
basking behavior.
Hibernation, Estivation
-Seasonal abandonment of
homeothermy due to seasonal
fluctuation in food availability
-It may undergo long periods of sleep
with some degree of hypothermia.
-The larger the hibernating animal is, the
higher the set point of body
temperature during hibernation is. This is
because larger animals are not able to
rewarm their body by only shivering
thermogenesis.
Hypometabolism without hypothermia
-Hypometabolism without hypothermia has been
described in small species of mouse (Acomys) that
inhabit eastern Mediterranean deserts.
-Their response to negative energy balance is to
reduce both basal metabolic rate and exercise energy
expenditure to such a level that the metabolic rate
almost approaches that of ectotherms.
-During this period of hypometabolism, normothermia
is maintained.
The strategies of camel to inhibit water loss
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Adaptation, Acclimation, Acclimatization
1. Adaptation defines the innate characteristics that allow an animal to survive
in adverse environments.
2. In acclimation, certain physiological changes result from prolonged
exposure to a single component of the environment(e.g., heat), and allow the
animal to respond more effectively to the environmental stressor.
3. Acclimatization describes the physiological changes with fluctuations in
several environmental parameters rather than one component.
